When Crawford's shorts get a little tight he does tend to blow up , can't stop the opponents momentum.Originally Posted by Maxbialystock
When Crawford's shorts get a little tight he does tend to blow up , can't stop the opponents momentum.
Predictable, and it was up above
Pitching coach went to the mound right before the grand slam. I think he told him to loosen up, and it worked. Yes, he gave up the dinger, but then he struck out the next guy.
Bad news is the Sox are now down 5-1 against a good pitcher. Good news is that Crawford is loose and ready for the 3d inning with, however, some risk of 5 more runs.
Sad that a light batting player with excellent speed is not proficient at bunting. Who teaches these players?
Better yet, who doesn't teach these players?
Agree--and agree. Sabermetrics insists that bunts are stupid, stupid, stupid.
4th inning, and the Sox so far have 1 hit, 3 K's, and an unearned run. Crawford has given up 5 runs, 3 hits (including a grand slam), a walk, and of course an HBP.
McGuire no longer exists. He's caught 3 games since May 13. More importantly, all 3 were not only wins, but well-pitched games: 2-1, 5-2, and 5-0.
Wong is the better hitter, agreed, but maybe McGuire should catch more games.
I am sure the sabremetricians have reams of data to show that trading one of their 27 outs against an attempt to move a runner up 90' is a losing tactic. But , that does not mean it isn't a skill to be learned and worked on so when the right situation does develop, it is one of the tools available.
I don't know exactly what sabermetrics says about bunts. Maybe, as you imply, they don't like sacrifice bunts. And maybe statistics agree with that. But, as you say, it's still a useful skill that can even get you some hits.
Risky to play both in the same game with the injury possibility . I am sure Cora is trying to put the better hitters at the plate when the team is scuffling for runs. McGuire , however, is no Sandy Leon at the plate and can carry his own weight. He should be the # 1 PH'er vs Rh'ers.
1 terrible inning by Crawford and 3 pretty good ones.
And zero good innings for the Sox lineup. The Orioles gave them that 1 run.
I agree we don't need to play both McGuire and Wong in the same game. I'm suggesting that the recent downturn in Sox pitching might be related to McGuire catching fewer games. I like a Wong a lot, but I like winning more.
It will be tough to lose this one on a single swing of the bat . But it's the pitching leading up to that swing that created the situation. Both Crawford and Bello have one bad inning where they can't shut it down. Good hitting by the O's or an adverse reaction to pressure ?
Well, sac bunts it does. But not bunting…
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